Form 8880, Credit for Qualified Retirement Savings Contributions, is how you claim the saver's credit for what you put into an IRA, a workplace plan such as a 401(k) or 403(b), or an ABLE account. The credit is up to $1,000, or $2,000 if married filing jointly, and it's figured on up to $2,000 of contributions per person. For 2025 you can't claim it if your income is above $39,500, or $59,250 for head of household and $79,000 for a joint return.
It's one of the few credits aimed squarely at modest earners, and it's often missed because people assume a retirement deduction is all they get. Everything below comes from Form 8880 for 2025 and its instructions, and the figures are as of October 2026.
Who can claim the saver's credit
You may be able to take the credit if you made contributions, other than rollover contributions, to a traditional or Roth IRA, elective deferrals to a 401(k), 403(b), governmental 457(b), SEP or SIMPLE plan, voluntary employee contributions to a qualified plan, or contributions to an ABLE account as its designated beneficiary.
You can't take it if either of these applies:
- The amount on Form 1040, 1040-SR or 1040-NR, line 11a, is more than $39,500, or $59,250 for head of household, or $79,000 if married filing jointly.
- The person who made the contribution was born after January 1, 2008, is claimed as a dependent on someone else's 2025 return, or was a student.
Student has a precise meaning here. You count as a student if, during any part of 5 calendar months of 2025, you were enrolled as a full-time student at a school or took a full-time on-farm training course.
The 2025 rate table
Your credit is your eligible contributions multiplied by a decimal from the table on line 9. The decimal depends on line 8, your adjusted gross income, and your filing status.
| Line 8 is over | But not over | Married filing jointly | Head of household | Single and others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| - | $23,750 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| $23,750 | $25,500 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.2 |
| $25,500 | $35,625 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| $35,625 | $38,250 | 0.5 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| $38,250 | $39,500 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.1 |
| $39,500 | $47,500 | 0.5 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| $47,500 | $51,000 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| $51,000 | $59,250 | 0.1 | 0.1 | 0.0 |
| $59,250 | $79,000 | 0.1 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
| $79,000 | - | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 |
In plain terms that's a 50%, 20% or 10% credit, and the cliffs are sharp. A single filer at $23,750 gets 0.5; one dollar over and the rate drops to 0.2. The single and others column also covers married filing separately and qualifying surviving spouse.
A worked example
Say you're married filing jointly, line 8 is $35,625, and you each put $2,000 into an IRA in 2025 with no distributions in the testing period. Line 7 is $4,000. On the table, a joint return at that income gets 0.5, so the tentative credit is $2,000, the joint maximum.
Two things can still cut it. The credit can't be more than the tax it's set against, worked out on the credit limit worksheet in the instructions, so a household that owes very little tax may not use all of it. And if the same couple had been single filers at that income, the decimal would have been 0.1 or 0.0, which shows how much filing status matters.
The distributions trap
Line 4 reduces your contributions by certain distributions you, and your spouse if filing jointly, received after 2022 and before the due date of your 2025 return, including extensions. That covers distributions from IRAs and workplace plans, but not rollovers, trustee-to-trustee transfers or a few other listed items.
The IRS example shows how it works: you received a $5,000 distribution in 2025 and your spouse received $2,000, but you didn't file jointly in 2023, so you'd put $5,000 in column (a) and $7,000 in column (b). Take a withdrawal during the testing period and your credit can shrink to nothing.
Want AI doing the heavy lifting in your marketing?
I build the systems that handle the boring 80 percent, so you get your week back. Done properly, with the human kept in.
How to fill in Form 8880
- Line 1: traditional and Roth IRA contributions for 2025, not counting rollovers.
- Line 2: elective deferrals and voluntary contributions to workplace plans, as shown on your W-2; line 3 adds them up.
- Line 4: distributions received in the testing period; line 5 subtracts them.
- Line 6: the smaller of line 5 or $2,000, for you and your spouse separately.
- Line 8: your adjusted gross income, and line 9 the decimal from the table.
- Line 10 onwards: multiply, then apply the tax liability limit. The result goes on Schedule 1 (Form 1040), line 20.
Your IRA custodian reports contributions on Form 5498, which is a useful cross-check for line 1. Distributions show up on Form 1099-R, so look for those before you fill in line 4.
What changes from 2027
Under the SECURE 2.0 Act, starting with 2027 tax returns filed in 2028, the saver's credit for retirement contributions is replaced by a saver's match deposited by the government directly into your retirement account. From then, Form 8880 will only be used to claim the saver's credit for ABLE account contributions, and a new separate form will be used for the match. For 2025 and 2026 returns, Form 8880 works as it always has.
The verdict
If your income sits under the line 8 limits and you've put anything into an IRA or workplace plan, run Form 8880. A married couple with low income who each put in $2,000 could get up to $2,000 back as a credit. Watch the distributions line and the student and dependent rules; those are where most claims fall apart.
Frequently asked questions
What is Form 8880?
It's the form for the saver's credit, the credit for qualified retirement savings contributions to IRAs, workplace plans and ABLE accounts.
How much is the saver's credit?
Up to $1,000, or $2,000 if married filing jointly, based on up to $2,000 of contributions per person.
What are the 2025 income limits for Form 8880?
You can't claim it if line 11a is more than $39,500, or $59,250 for head of household and $79,000 if married filing jointly.
Can a student claim the saver's credit?
No. If you were a full-time student during any part of 5 calendar months of 2025, you can't take the credit.
Do distributions affect the saver's credit?
Yes. Certain distributions received after 2022 and before the due date of your 2025 return reduce the contributions you can count.
Is the saver's credit ending?
Starting with 2027 tax returns, the credit for retirement contributions is replaced by a saver's match paid into your account, and Form 8880 will only cover ABLE contributions.
